Release System
Systems that may be used to quickly remove gear having straps from a user's body. Certain embodiments provide a housing into which a plurality of plugs may be inserted. A strap may be secured to each plug, and the straps may be used to secure gear to a user's body. When it is desired to remove the gear, a user may disengage all of the plugs with a single movement—either by pulling on an actuating member that is associated with the housing, or by pressing on a plate associated with the housing. Either movement will disengage the plurality of plugs from the housing at one time.
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The following invention relates to release systems that may be used to quickly and easily remove gear that has straps from a user's body.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONA user might wear some type of gear on their body, including but not limited to military tactical vests, backpacks, hiking gear, diving equipment, parachutes, garments, or any other type of pack. The gear may include a plurality of straps that are secured to a user's body to form a secure fit. For example, there may be one strap secured around a user's left shoulder, one around the right shoulder, straps secured around the user's torso, and so on.
In such systems the gear may be removed by slipping the straps off the user's body. This method may take a long time, because each strap must be separately removed from whatever extremity it is secured around. Additionally, as the number of straps increases, the number of movements required to remove the gear also increases. There is an increased risk of confusion and/or entanglement as the number of movements increases. Finally, slipping the straps off a user's body requires a certain amount of space—a user must move his or her shoulders, elbows, etc. to remove the gear. If the user is in a confined area, his or her movement may be restricted such that the user cannot readily remove the gear.
Although slipping off the straps may be sufficient when time and/or restrictions on movement are not at issue, in other situations, it may be required to remove the gear more quickly or easily. For example, in a military setting the user might face danger, and might need to remove the gear quickly to escape the danger. If the user is inside of a military vehicle (for example, inside of a cockpit of an airplane), then movement may be restricted and the user may not be able to readily remove the gear. In a diving setting, the user might need to remove the diving equipment quickly in order to be unencumbered for easy swimming. In such situations, every moment counts and it is thus desirable to remove the gear as quickly as possible.
Systems have been developed to allow gears having straps to be removed quickly. In some systems, the straps have buckles or hooks that a user may disengage to release the straps. For example, in some systems a metal hook is engaged with a metal ring, and the user may remove the gear by disengaging the hook from the ring. In other systems, buckles are used to secure the straps, and the buckle may be disengaged by manually pressing on a release mechanism associated with each individual buckle. Once disengaged, the gear falls off the user's body. But such systems are problematic in that it takes time to disengage each individual buckle and/or hook. Another problem is that metal parts (such as metal hooks and metal rings) increase the weight of the gear, which may be uncomfortable or dangerous.
Thus, there is a need for a system that may be used to quickly and easily remove gear having a plurality of straps from a user's body.
Specifically, there is a need to reduce the amount of time it takes to remove gear from a user's body.
There is also a need to reduce the number of movements required to remove gear from a user's body.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONCertain embodiments of the invention provide a housing into which a plurality of plugs may be inserted. A strap may be secured to each plug, and the straps may be used to secure gear to a user's body. When it is desired to remove the gear, a user may disengage all of the plugs with a single movement—either by pulling on an actuating member that is coupled to the housing, or by pressing on a plate associated with the housing. Either movement will disengage the plurality of plugs from the housing at one time.
Thus, certain embodiments reduce the amount of time and number of movements that is required to remove the gear by providing a single housing that may disengage a plurality of plugs. The single housing additionally reduces manufacturing costs and the weight of the system.
A full and enabling disclosure including the best mode of practicing the appended claims and directed to one of ordinary skill in the art is set forth more particularly in the remainder of the specification. The specification makes reference to the following appended figures, in which use of like reference numerals in different features is intended to illustrate like or analogous components.
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The housing 12 may also include an actuating member 16 that is coupled to the frame 48 by at least one receiving portion 54. The flange 24 on the actuating member 16 prevents the actuating member 16 from being pulled out of the receiving portion 54, and the cutout 26 may allow the end of the actuating member 16 to flex and be inserted into the receiving portion 54. The actuating member 16 is but one non-limiting way to disengage the plugs 14 from the frame 48. In the embodiments shown in the figures, the actuating member 16 is generally an elongated cylinder with a protrusion 18 on one portion facing the plate 28 and frame 48. A bottom view of the protrusion 18 is in
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Alternatively to pulling the actuating member 16 as shown in
The release system 10 may be used again after the plugs 14 have been disengaged. For example, when the actuating member 16 is released, the spring 20 returns the actuating member 16 to its initial position. Alternatively, the user 110 may simply remove pressure from the plate 28. The flexible ribs 40, 42 apply force to the plate 28, moving it up to its initial position, wherein the top surface 30 of the plate 28 is generally on the same level as the top surface 50 of the frame 48. Then the user 110 can re-insert the plugs 14 into the apertures 58 and secure the gear 100 to the user 110.
Embodiments of the invention therefore provide at least two ways to disengage the plugs 14 (either pulling on tab 22 or by directly depressing the plate 28). The user 110 may use one method or the other depending upon preference or ease of use. Certain embodiments of the invention therefore provide methods of disengaging plugs 14 using only a single motion rather than disengaging each plug 14 individually. Embodiments also reduce manufacturing costs by providing a single housing 12 that receives a plurality of plugs 14.
The frame 48 and plate 28 may be constructed from the same material, or from different materials, including but not limited to nylon, acetal, or an impact modified polyacetal resin, such as TPOM. The use of such lightweight materials reduce the weight of the release system 10. If desired, the material may be reinforced with fibers, and may include additional additives such as fire retardants. The frame 48 and plate 28 may be made from any one of several manufacturing techniques, including injection molding. The frame 48 and plate 28 may be molded separately, and then subsequently joined together by the ribs 40, 42. Alternatively, the frame 48 and plate 28 may be molded in one piece with any necessary machining to finish the ribs 40, 42 and other elements. Similarly, the plugs 14 may also be made of nylon, acetal, or an impact modified polyacetal resin (such as TPOM), and may be molded or machined. The actuating member 16 may be made of any suitable plastic or metal, and may be molded or machined. The spring 20 may be any suitable spring that is dimensioned to receive the actuating member 16.
The foregoing is provided for purposes of illustration and disclosure of embodiments of the invention. It will be appreciated that those skilled in the art, upon attaining an understanding of the foregoing may readily produce alterations to, variations of, and equivalents to such embodiments. Accordingly, it should be understood that the present disclosure has been presented for purposes of example rather than limitation, and does not preclude inclusion of such modifications, variations and/or additions to the present subject matter as would be readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art.
Claims
1. A release system comprising:
- a housing comprising: a frame that defines a plurality of apertures, each aperture comprising an engaging member; a plate positioned within the frame and moveable between a first position and a second position;
- a plurality of plugs inserted into the plurality of apertures, each plug comprising an engaging member; and
- an actuating member coupled to the frame and configured to selectively depress the plate when the actuating member is moved across the frame and the plate,
- wherein, when the plate is in the first position, the engaging members of the plugs are engaged with the engaging members of the apertures to secure the plugs within the apertures, and
- wherein, when the plate is in the second position, the plate is depressed and disengages the engaging members of the plugs from the engaging members of the apertures to release the plugs from the apertures.
2. The release system as in claim 1, wherein the plate is moved into the second position by either depressing the plate or by moving the actuating member.
3. The release system as in claim 1, wherein the frame comprises a top surface and a bottom surface, and the plate comprises a top surface and a bottom surface, and wherein, when the plate in the first position, the top surface of the frame is generally on the same level as the top surface of the plate.
4. The release system as in claim 1, wherein, when the plate is in the second position, the plate contacts and applies force to the engaging members of the plugs to thereby disengage the engaging members.
5. The release system as in claim 1, wherein the engaging member of one of the plugs comprises a slanted surface and an inner surface, and the engaging member of one of the apertures comprises slanted surface and an inner surface.
6. The release system as in claim 5, wherein the inner surface of the engaging member of one of the plugs contacts the inner surface of the engaging member of one of the apertures, thus engaging the engaging member of one of the plugs with the engaging member of one of the apertures.
7. The release system as in claim 1, wherein the frame comprises a top surface, a bottom surface opposite the top surface, and sidewalls extending between the top surface and the bottom surface, and wherein the plurality of apertures are defined by the sidewalls, the top surface, and the bottom surface of the frame.
8. The release system as in claim 1, wherein the actuating member comprises an elongated cylinder and a protrusion.
9. The release system as in claim 8, wherein when the actuating member is moved across the frame and the plate, the protrusion contacts and depresses the plate, thus moving the plate into the second position.
10. The release system as in claim 1, wherein at least one of the frame or the plate is comprised of at least one of nylon, acetal, an impact modified polyacetal resin, or TPOM.
11. The release system as in claim 1, wherein one of the apertures further comprises at least one guide rail, and one of the plugs further comprises at least one channel that mates with the at least one guide rail when the plug is inserted into the aperture.
12. A release system comprising:
- a housing comprising: a frame that defines a plurality of apertures; a plate positioned within the frame and moveable between a first position and a second position;
- a plurality of plugs inserted into the plurality of apertures, each plug comprising an engaging member; and
- an actuating member comprising an elongated cylinder and a protrusion, wherein the actuating member is coupled to the frame and the protrusion is configured to selectively depress the plate when the actuating member is moved across the frame and the plate,
- wherein, when the plate is in the first position, the engaging members of the plugs are engaged with at least a portion of the apertures to secure the plugs within the apertures, and
- wherein, when the plate is in the second position, the plate contacts and applies force to the engaging members of the plugs to thereby release the plugs from the apertures.
13. The release system as in claim 12, wherein the plate is moved into the second position by either depressing the plate or by moving the actuating member.
14. The release system as in claim 12, wherein both an outer top edge of the frame and an outer top edge of the plate are generally circular.
15. The release system as in claim 14, wherein an outer top edge of the plate is concentric with an outer top edge of the frame.
16. The release system as in claim 12, further comprising at least one flexible rib to couple the plate to the frame.
17. The release system as in claim 16, wherein the at least one rib presses on the plate to return the plate to the first position.
18. A release system comprising:
- a housing comprising:
- a frame comprising a top surface, a bottom surface opposite the top surface, and sidewalls extending between the top surface and the bottom surface, wherein the sidewalls of the frame define the plurality of apertures that are configured to receive a plurality of plugs; and
- a plate having a top surface and positioned within the frame, wherein the plate is moveable between a first position and a second position;
- an actuating member coupled to the frame and configured to selectively depress the plate when the actuating member is moved across the frame,
- wherein, when the plate is in the first position, the top surface of the frame is generally on the same level as the top surface of the plate, and
- wherein, when the plate is in the second position, the plate is configured to contact and apply force to the plurality of plugs to thereby release the plugs from the apertures.
19. The release system as in claim 18, further comprising a plurality of plugs inserted into the plurality of apertures.
20. The release system as in claim 19, wherein each plug is secured to a strap.
21. The release system as in claim 18, further comprising knobs protruding from the bottom surface of the frame, wherein the knobs may be used to secure the housing to a garment or gear worn by a user.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 12, 2010
Publication Date: Aug 18, 2011
Applicant: YKK Corporation of America (Marietta, GA)
Inventors: Quang L. Duong (Stockbridge, GA), Wolfgang E. Coronel (Macon, GA)
Application Number: 12/705,027